1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for determining impurities in liquids, and more specifically, to such an apparatus which can give a reproducible impurity particle count per test area.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
In recent years, testing of consumer products, both wholesale and retail, has become extremely important. Consumers need to know as nearly as possible the exact components of a particular consumer good and relative percentages of each component. In the food area, this has become increasingly important as more and more people become health conscious--they want to know exactly what is in each food product and the purity levels of that food product before they will make the purchase.
In other industries, suppliers must also determine exact contents and purity levels of products in order to inform manufacturers before purchasing. In this way, manufacturers can determine ahead of time which suppliers' material will work best for a particular manufacturer's end product. This decision is made by determining what substances must be in the material and what purity level is required for maximum performance at least cost in the end product.
Thus, it would be desirable to obtain a testing apparatus which would meet the need for testing materials such as liquids in so many facets of industry. Such an apparatus should be lightweight, simple to use and easily carried from lab bench to microscope. Such an apparatus would also be equally useful in the field as well as in the laboratory, and at the same time provide reproducible test results. It would further be desirable to provide such an apparatus which is highly resistant to breakage, and has low cost, easily replaceable components.